If you’re on the hunt for a podcast hosting platform, there’s a good chance you’ve come across Captivate. This is newer hosting software aimed toward serious podcasters, with more than 1.6 million episodes hosted for global customers.
Not sure if Captivate is a fit for your podcast workflow? You can use this guide to make an informed decision. We’re covering all of Captivate’s prices, features, and limitations, then offering several alternatives if it doesn’t offer what you’re looking for.
Let’s dive in.
Captivate Podcast Hosting: Grow Your Audience with Ease
- Introduction to podcast hosting with Captivate
- Key features of Captivate
- What people are saying about Captivate
- Captivate pricing plans and options
- Alternatives to Captivate for Podcast Hosting
- The bottom line on Captivate for podcast hosting
Introduction to podcast hosting with Captivate
What can you get from Captivate podcast hosting?
Here’s a quick breakdown of what to expect:
| Best for | Features | Mobile app | Monetization tools | Monthly contracts | Free trial available | Price |
| Serious podcasters | Single-click distribution, monetization, IAB analytics, website creation, third-party analytics, and more | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | Starting at $17 USD per month |
Pros of Captivate for podcast hosting
- Captivate offers unlimited audio uploads, storage, and individual podcasts. The only restriction is the number of downloads, which means there’s no need to upgrade until you’re ready.
- One of Captivate’s greatest features is its IAB analytics. You can use this hosting platform to evaluate your podcast’s growth based on downloads, listeners, and donation income.
- Every Captivate plan comes with the same general features. The main difference is the limitations on downloads. You get a seven-day free trial to test Captivate, which may be useful when comparing the best podcast hosting platforms.
Cons of Captivate for podcast hosting
- There’s no free plan with Captivate for podcast hosting. Compared to other alternatives like Buzzsprout, this could be a significant limitation.
- Captivate’s monetization tools are relatively new. Since some of the best options are still in beta, you may not have the headroom to grow your podcast income quickly.
Key features of Captivate
Captivate offers several tools to help podcasters grow their audience.
Here are a few of the best features you’ll get using Captivate for podcast hosting:
Single-click distribution
With Captivate, you can tap a single button to distribute your podcast to all major distribution sites. You can also generate an RSS feed for podcasts so subscribers stay updated on recent episodes.
A few of the most popular distribution sites include:
Monetization features
Captivate offers a variety of monetization features to help your podcast generate income. For example, you can set up:
- Membership subscriptions
- Listener tips
- Exclusive and bonus content
- Early access content
- Dynamic ads (coming soon)
Unfortunately, some of Captivate’s best monetization features are still in beta, which means they’re not necessarily ready for market (or extensively user-tested).
If monetization is an essential element of your podcast, or if you need more extensive features, you may want to consider a Captivate alternative.
IAB analytics
Captivate’s podcast analytics are monitored by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). This is the governing authority of podcast metrics that ensures you’re receiving accurate metrics.
Connecting to Captivate’s reporting portal provides detailed information held to the highest industry standard.
You can easily review:
- Backlinks
- Promotional links
- Downloads
- Clickthrough rates
- Devices and locations
- Performance comparisons
Since analytics are available on every Captivate plan, you don’t need to upgrade before benchmarking your show.
Captivate Sites
You can use Captivate to build a no-code website for your podcast— which comes free with every plan and offers the following features:
- Email sign-up forms
- Custom domain names
- Google Analytics
- SEO and sharing tools
- Team management
Keep in mind you can’t embed monetization or subscription options on your Captivate website. The most you can do is highlight recent supporters, and then add a CTA button to your tips page.
Third-party integrations
You can plug into Captivate to connect your favorite platforms if you already manage multiple podcast creation tools. This allows you to easily manage workflows and avoid switching between tabs to complete necessary work.
Some of the most popular Captivate integrations include:
What people are saying about Captivate
Captivate averages a 95% positive sentiment rating across popular online podcast review sites.
Here’s how the individual scores break down:
- TrustPilot: 4.8/5 stars from 88 user reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 stars from 13 user reviews
- GetApp: 5/5 stars from 1 user review
Customers love using Captivate’s analytics tool. They also appreciate its one-click distribution functionality, since it saves time and money to spend on other tasks.
Current users have said:
- “I’ve been in podcasting a long time and have used a lot of different hosting companies across the something like 100 plus shows I’ve been involved with. So when I tell you that there’s nobody that can compete with Captivate on price, service, features, and even training for newbies, I hope that goes someway to giving you confidence in using them.” — Podknows, TrustPilot
- “Captivate was super easy to use and learn. I had never started a podcast before and Captivate made it such a smooth process when it comes to hosting, advertising, and tracking analytics.” — Samantha P., G2
- “We switched to Captivate from another podcast host two years ago + haven’t looked back. We especially like the ability to host multiple podcasts under one plan, the clean interface, and having a modern website that includes showcasing our podcasts. It’s def. more than most other podcast hosts but the quality of the product + dedication of the team is outstanding.” — Melvin, TrustPilot
Several reviewers provided constructive criticism as well. Some remarks are that setup is difficult, and support is slow to respond. Others highlight the expensive pricing plans, which are made more frustrating by the short trial period.
Captivate pricing plans and options
Alt: This is how much Captivate podcast hosting costs.
Captivate offers three pricing options: Personal, Professional, and Business. Each plan comes with the same base features, including:
- Unlimited podcast storage
- Dynamic content insertion
- Podcast distribution
- Analytics
- Podcast website
- Podcast promotion tools
Want to try before you buy? Captivate offers a seven-day free trial.
And if you’re a student, educational organization, charity, or non-profit, you may be eligible for a 25% discount.
Let’s break down each of Captivate’s plans below.
Personal
It costs $17 per user per month for:
- 30,000 downloads per month
- 1 private podcast
- 150 private podcast subscribers
Professional
It costs $44 per user per month for:
- 150,000 downloads per month
- 2 private podcasts
- 1,000 private podcast subscribers
Business
It costs $90 per user per month for:
- 300,000 downloads per month
- 3 private podcasts
- 5,000 private podcast subscribers
You can also perform agency work at this tier, such as hosting client shows and providing customers with granular access to their podcasts.
Alternatives to Captivate for podcast hosting
Captivate may be a popular podcast hosting tool, but it’s not the best fit for every show.
If you’re looking for a platform with a different set of features, you may want to explore one of these podcast hosting providers:
Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout is an all-in-one podcast hosting platform for brand-new podcasters. It’s easy to start with the 90-day free trial, then upgrade to a paid tier when you confirm it’s a fit.
You’ll get a few extra features with Buzzsprout versus Captivate, such as access to an Archive plan — which allows you to continue hosting your show even if you’re taking a break. Just keep in mind you lose unlimited storage and bandwidth, which Captivate offers on every plan.
Learn more in our guide to Buzzsprout.
Simplecast
Simplecast is a podcast management and monetization platform for both independent podcasters and network shows. It also provides unlimited audio storage, which could be a great option for prolific podcasters.
Unlike Captivate, Simplecast offers email marketing services so you can notify subscribers of any new episodes. However, it only supports 20,000 downloads on the base plan, compared to 30,000 downloads on Captivate’s Personal plan.
Spotify for Podcasters
If you’re already pushing your podcast episodes to Spotify, you may want to consider Spotify for Podcasters. This is a 100% free platform for hosting and monetizing your show, including analytics, fan engagement, and basic recording tools.
Spotify for Podcasters also integrates with Riverside, which means you can record, edit, host, and distribute your podcast episodes directly from your browser. Just keep in mind you have to ‘qualify’ for ad revenue, with some users citing requirements of 1,000 listeners or more.
Blubrry
Blubrry is a well-rounded podcast hosting platform designed for podcasters who don’t have a digital footprint. Each plan comes with a WordPress website and a PowerPress plugin so you can design a page to push on social media.
Unfortunately, Blubrry doesn’t offer many podcast monetization features, which may be a limitation if you want to make money. There are also no pre-production capabilities, so don’t expect to do any recording or editing with this platform.
The bottom line on Captivate for podcast hosting
If you’re looking for a ‘prosumer’ tool to manage your podcast hosting needs, Captivate may be a fit. Although it doesn’t offer a free plan, and many of its podcast monetization features are in beta, it provides everything needed to publish, distribute, and host a show.
Just keep in mind Captivate doesn’t offer many pre-production tools for podcast audio — you’ll have to find another solution for video editing, remote recording, and social media assets.
You could always find separate solutions to handle these podcast hosting steps on your own. But if you’re strapped for time or ready to delegate repetitive podcast tasks, you can contact the team at The Podcast Consultant.